Checking in

Ensign Anka had been on the Imperator for a sum total of 3 hours and 47 minutes. He had been allocated a bunk, issued his comm-badge, unpacked, changed into his uniform and checked out the laboratories that would make up the majority of his world for the duration of this tour.

He was having trouble containing the bubbling glee at being on his first proper assignment, and on a freshly refitted Sovereign class no doubt.

So. Much. Shiny. Tech.

Also a lot of could-be-improved tech, which was almost as alluring.

It was as he was making his way to suss-out the nearest mess hall to his work when he spied the distinctive uniform of the Rear Admiral.

"Ah, Admiral Sir!" Tyrik exclaimed before his brain had chance to catch up with his brain. The Ensign had rushed up to Lancaster and grasped him by the hand, shaking it with enthusiasm.

"Ensign Anka, Sir. So pleased to bump into you, I've just transfered in from the USS Atlas, very pleased to be here, Sir."

"Nice to meet you too, Ensign." Oliver said, laughing slightly to himself "You want to breath a little when you talk? Or, you know, let me have my hand back?"

"Ah, of course..." Tyrik dropped his grip immediately and instead started rubbing at the back of his neck. "Apologies, letting the moment get the better of me." He was still grinning, not unlike an idiot.

"I can tell." Oliver asked, smirking "You a newby?"

"Eh-heh, yes..." the Ensign admitted, seeming to have come off his hyper burst he was behaving a little more as one would expect from an officer. "Green as grass, as the Human idiom goes, though a little older than the average Ensign, had a bit of an academic career before signing up."

"What kind of Academic?" Oliver said.

"Oh, wrote a thesis on Space-time manipulation. Assessing all the different warp-esque manners of movement in the various dimensions." Tyrik relaxed a touch. "Lots of theory, but I've gained an earnest interest in the practical. Makes Starfleet the best place to be."

"That sounds rather interesting. I used to be in Operations and Engineering." Oliver admitted "Tell me, what are your thoughts on the potential applications for Slipstream travel?"

"Oh, all sorts. Currently I think it can only be implemented as an emergency tool. Enables vessels from all sorts of places to react to issues across the Galaxy very rapidly, and of course it opens up more distant quadrants to explore more deeply.

There's also interesting implication for instantaneous super-long range communications But there needs to be a better mechanism for regulating the phase variance, I think that is the man focus of Federation research at the moment."

"Probably why the Vesta class is the only ship with it implemented." Oliver replied with a laugh "Helps to have the most advanced computer systems in the fleet. Still, would be nice to get a look at one up close."

"Oh yes," Tyrik agreed in earnest. "Give me half a chance and I'd strip one of those babies back just to put it back together. But I guess as Admiral you don't get much time to roll up your sleeves and grab a wrench... do you miss it?" Anka asked.

"Sometimes." Oliver admitted "I remember on the first ship I served as Executive Officer on, the Epsilon, it took me three months to remember I wasn't in Operations and Engineering anymore. Everytime something went wrong, I'd either be leaning on that ops console, or trying to get in a turbolift to Engineering. Captain Matteas eventually sat me down and... Well, he told me to stop."

"Ha, old habits eh? And did you...? Stop, I mean."

"Eventually." Oliver said "But as you say, old habits die hard."

"Well, apologies for taking up your time, Admiral, but it's been a pleasure bumping into you." Ensign Anka said with a nod. "I'll let you get on with, ah, commanding things... but uh, could you point me in the direction of the mess hall? I neglected to eat before the journey here."

"Deck 13, section A-2." Oliver laughed "Enjoy your lunch, Ensign."

"Thanks, Sir." Tyrik said with a nod before leaving the Admiral to his duties.